The Venice Marathon Route
Foreword
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You will know that in the last half hour (usually from 30km), fatigue is the
main problem of marathon running. This is the case in all marathons, including
those with flat routes like the Venice Marathon. In the case of Venice, however,
although there are no hills as such - unlike those of New York's Central Park or
Heartbreak Hill in Boston - some difficulty is presented by the 13 bridges of
the last 4km.
The bridges are not very high, and the biggest is the penultimate one, which is 20m long and 5-6m high. Many runners, especially those in pursuit of their personal best, see their hopes fade precisely in these final four kilometres. But it's not only the bridges or their gradients (which are levelled by springy boarding that accelerates the descents) that will affect the final section. As with all marathons, the clue to best results lies in overall pacing.
The Marathon starts in Stra, a village near Padua on the banks of the River Brenta. The course winds along the river for nearly 20km and reaches 38km without any big gradient changes a couple of overpasses (before and after the causeway bridge to Venice). The overall height difference is only 9 metres, so the route is a fast one, at least on paper! For the first 16 km of the meandering River Brenta with its beautiful villas designed by Palladio, you're inclined to feel you're running imperceptibly downhill. In this section, where the road follows the river's meanders, concentrate on steering the shortest route between the bends so you don't end up running farther than necessary. There are dozens of bends in these early kilometres so by cutting across them, you'll save time. It's not cheating: along this section, the course has been measured by following the most direct path.
You cross the half-marathon mark shortly before reaching an industrial district behind Marghera port. You will soon cross the railway line and be in Mestre, Venice's mainland city, with its lively crowds of spectators along the "Corso del Popolo" (a short U-turn section). Then, it's out towards the lagoon and, at kilometre 32, after an overpass, you see the water and Venice beyond . across the "Ponte di Libertà". Crossing this long bridge is a critical point in the race as tiredness will really be setting in by now. Long and straight, the bridge ( 3.5 km ) can sap you mentally too, also as you may find yourself out there on your own, without other runners or spectators. To be in a group of runners with at this point would be ideal, as it helps maintain an otherwise-flagging pace and gives protection against any landward-blowing wind which the bridge may be exposed to.
Whatever the case, now's the time to marshal those reserves energy which you ought to have been saving up from the starting gun. Things will start to get tough at the beginning of that long, flat bridge and if you're already in difficulty at this point, any wind will only worsen your discomfort. When you reach the end, remember there are still 13 bridges in Venice proper waiting to hamper the fine time you have in mind. Many indeed fear the canal bridges precisely because they - unlike the top runners - suffer them rather like walls and don't have enough energy to use the descents to accelerate again and reap some benefit. I still remember the finale of the 1995 marthon, when Goffi and Leone contended victory in the bridges section at a pace which was faster than 20km/hour. Thrilling stuff.
These last kilometres in the heart of Venice are certainly the most alluring, but tiredness will make concentration falter, so enjoy the view another time and keep an eye out for crooked or slippery paving stones (it could well be wet). One thrilling final section is when you cross the pontoon bridge across the Grand Canal, installed for the occasion. The view is breathtaking, but don't stop to admire it! From the wharf on the other side, you're in the beating heart of Venice, just a stone's throw from St. Mark's square.
Many think of the St. Mark's belltower as where the finishing line is. It's not. So avoid the unpleasant surprise of relaxing too soon and then having to keep on going! From opposite the entrance to St. Mark's Square, there's still another 1½ km to go. Plus, the final section has 3 more bridges in store, and these happen to be the steepest! Right up to the end, then, keep a last drop of energy aside for this - so, instead of crawling over them, you will romp over those last bridges. Then you can savour the truly unique thrill of having run the marathon in the world's most beautiful city.
Italian to English translations by Ivor Coward
